Bob Breck (my favorite local meteorlogist) is doing less shrugging and more sideways glancing, which means we now really need to watch. Yesterday I failed to get a cat carrier, so it's on tomorrow's shopping list.
I was in a BAD MOOD yesterday until we went to church--the Holy Cross Neighborhood Association meeting, that is. There's nothing like a group of people banding together to get things done to make you feel better. Among my favorite moments from last night's meeting:
--A young black mother asking that we help each other out with home renovations. She was holding her antsy four-year old, and when she announced that this weekend she'd like volunteers to help her "mud her drywall," her daughter squealed, "MUD?!" before wriggling free to bang on the gospel church drum set.
--An older man who's bought a large building that he plans to call "The Village" (after the phrase, "It takes a village..."). He stood at the pulpit and said, "I'm not gonna lie. Originally I bought the building because I like to work on cars. But then God gave me a mission, and I don't know about you, but I'm not gonna fight God." He was asking for help with the project, which he plans to be a community center for neighborhood kids.
"I grew up in the village, if you know what I mean," he said. "When I was a kid, if you got into something, the whole village knew before you got back home. You couldn't get away with stuff like these kids do now, and I'm here to tell you that it's our fault that they're going wrong."
The attendees (mostly women) nodded in agreement. Then, eighty-something year old Miss Maybell got up and said she could help teach kids how to sew. Warenetta passed around a survey form and Simon and I offered to work with kids with reading and writing.
The Global Green Project has started work on their Greenola project (the mixed-income housing and community center built from sustainable materials and focused on energy-efficiency--it's down at Forstall and Egania in Holy Cross). They announced a dinner at MLK Elementary on Monday. One neighbor, Ann, was worried about there being enough food and somehow the meeting turned into this funny critique of Global Green's not organizing an RSVP-list so we could be sure to get a seat (presumably next to Brad Pitt).
--Finally, there was a somber moment when HCNA president Charles Allen asked if everyone had a plan to evacuate. There were no No's, but plenty looks that said, "I dare you, Dean."
Anyways, I'm feeling better and renewed today. That neighborhood is home like nobody's business.
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